SpongeBob Square Pants

This picture of Spongebob is very deceiving, here he looks all innocent, the perfect character for your child's favorite television show.

The other night I was babysitting for a 3 (almost 4) year old and his 2 year old cousin. The 3 year old was quite a challenge and I found myself using Spongebob as a babysitter. The child wanted to watch the Spongebob movie so we gladly put it on, hoping for a bit of peace.

What I wasn't expecting was to find a movie FULL of violence and relational aggression! It was everywhere and in every scene.

What made it worse was when the 2 year old, who is practically family to us, started to get scared. He sat on my knee and as violent behavior came onto the screen he was say "Nooo!" and make noises of fear.

Although I was appalled by the movie I left it on because I wanted the 3 year old to stay quite. As we drove home that night I was very disappointed in myself, one for letting the media be my babysitter and two for continuing to expose children to such aggressive media.

This experience has made me determined to filter the media my children use and limit the time they spend watching television.